Elize Ryd's Birthday Gift

I originally got this idea from when Elize was talking about Venice, Italy and Fabio Lione of Rhapsody of Fire.

The fellow with the censor bar over his eyes is Elize's boyfriend--who is kept out of the limelight, so I figured a censor bar was the best way to keep his identity a secret.

Well...I thought it was pretty funny... :/

Silverthorn in My Side: Sketches of Kamelot

Thomas: "Did...you want me to sign this?  Oh, I can keep this?  Thanks, man!"

Tommy: "Whoa.  Cool.  Thanks, man!"

Alissa: "Are you a Character Designer?  One of my friends does that." 

Sean: *laughs "Thank you!"

Coen: "Hey!  My first gift!  Thanks!  You got the hair right!"

Casey: "?  Oh, thanks a lot!"

Here's a little project I did for the band, Kamelot for their show on September 21, 2013 in Anaheim.  

Since I saw them open for Nightwish, I have been drawing and giving bands character designs or drawings of them as a gift.  Mostly, I get a "oh, this is cool" and a "thank you," and that's it--which is totally worth it for me! 
But this time, I gave them these pictures--and the next day, two of them showed up on the bands Facebook page!--which can be seen here: 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151723297563003&set=a.125526028002.104540.77696833002&type=1&relevant_count=396

I was very very flattered. 

Kamelot, if you see this, thank you again for accepting my work so graciously, and as always, putting on an awesome show!  

Guilty Gear: Nexus featuring Amaranthe

The Logo

Uses her magical hair to fight

Uses his Sword and Fire attacks to fight

A Vampire that uses his fists to fight

A Knight of the Holy Orders that uses Lightning attacks to fight

Uses a pool cue and pool balls to fight

Possessed by a demon, he has adopted the darkness to fight

Anthony De Pari Art: Season 1, June 2013

Elize

Olivia

Wilde Night

Eye see...

Prometheus, anyone?

A Pain in the Neck

Need a Hand?

Kuh-knuckles

Fickle Fingers...

Hand Breakdowns

Elegant Hand pose

Nitty Gritty Detail Hands

More Elegant Hand Poses

Cross-hands

Planar bone structures

More Hand Studies

Wilde Night

Bridgman: The Human Machine 8: More Eyes

Two Wilde's, and Stormkirk Captain...I think

Another attempt at the Morghan character

My ultimate goal in my work has been to blend the realistic and the anime style together in an appealing way so that I could move my anime characters in three-dimensional space...but ya gotta know how to draw realistic first right?  So, that's what I've been working on as of late--trying to understand what NEEDS to be displayed for constructive purposes, and then deciding what to leave out for stylistic reasons.  

I mean...seriously, how many times have you seen InuYasha or Goku turn their head in three-dimensions convincingly? 

Putting my skills to the Test: Amaranthe

Just for the sake of comparison, this is the pic from their website.  This is my first attempt at drawing them...

From Top Left: Andy, Olaf and Johan.

From Top Left: Elize, Morten and Jake E.

Another attempt at Elize and her lovely smile. 

This time I included the reference picture, so if you wish to critique, feel free--I welcome it! 
Thanks for stopping by!

Faces and Features: by Fritz Willis

Faces and Features 1: "Lips to ear rhymes..."

Faces and Features 2: Nose and Lips

Faces and Features 3

Faces and Features 4:  Looks a bit like Sofia Lauren or Raquel Welch...

These are replicated from a book called "Faces and Features" by Fritz Willis.  It's an old book my Dad gave me when I really started drawing in middle school, and it's from the 1960's.  It was printed by a company from Tustin, surprisingly enough.  It's a short little How-To Book, but it's effective.  I should have drawn from this years ago.